The present disclosure relates generally to medical monitoring systems and, more particularly, to connectors for coupling a medical device such as a sensor to a monitor.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
In the field of medicine, doctors often desire to monitor certain physiological characteristics of their patients. Accordingly, a wide variety of devices have been developed for monitoring certain physiological characteristics of a patient. Such devices provide doctors and other healthcare personnel with the information they need to provide the best possible healthcare for their patients. As a result, such monitoring devices have become an indispensable part of modern medicine. For example, photoplethysmography is a common technique for monitoring physiological characteristics of a patient, and one device based upon photoplethysmography techniques is commonly referred to as a pulse oximeter. The pulse oximeter may be used to measure and monitor various blood flow characteristics and/or physiological characteristics of a patient, such as the blood oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in arterial blood, the volume of individualized blood pulsations supplying the tissue, and/or the rate of blood pulsations corresponding to each heartbeat of the patient. In fact, the “pulse” in pulse oximetry refers to the time-varying amount of arterial blood in the tissue during each cardiac cycle.
A patient in a hospital setting may be monitored by a variety of medical devices, including devices based on pulse oximetry techniques. For example, a patient may be monitored with a pulse oximeter. Depending on the patient's clinical condition, a physician may monitor a patient with a regional oxygen saturation sensor to determine if the patient is at risk of hypoxia. If a patient is scheduled for surgery, additional or alternative monitoring devices may be applied. For example, one such device may include a bispectral index (BIS) sensor to measure the level of consciousness by algorithmic analysis of a patient's electroencephalography (EEG) during general anesthesia.
Various medical devices, such as sensors, are typically coupled to a monitor by a connector. However, typical connectors are oriented in one particular orientation to successfully couple the medical device to the monitor, which is inconvenient and may lead to delays in patient care. Additionally, each type of medical device and/or each type of monitor typically requires a different type of connector. The many different connectors that are required in the medical setting are also inconvenient for the medical practitioner, and the time required to identify and to orient the particular connector and/or to learn how to operate the various connectors may result in delays in patient care.